United We Stand
by AsLostAsAliceAsMadAsTheHatter
Summary: A child will be born of several mothers and a single father. The powers of darkness and light will battle within her until she is forced to choose a side. Four of the mothers will be declared villains, while the fifth will be such a gleaming example of a hero that the light magic will battle the dark. She will either be called the savior or the destroyer.'
1. Prologue

Deianira stared at the town sign in anticipation. This was it, she was finally where she was meant to be. Taking a deep breath, she stepped over the town line, feeling the protective spell shatter as she stepped through. Power surged through her as she entered, greater than she'd ever known. A flick of the wrist created a new protection spell, ten times stronger than the last.

She marched up the road, the buildings of the town looming in the distance. She felt her inner beast stir, aching to run and mark the territory as hers, but she refrained from transforming. She wasn't sure how the town would take to a large Siberian tiger running through town, not to mention a dragon. The streetlights glittered on her hair, turning the red to fire and the black to ink. She smirked as she observed the town.

It was a quiet place, smaller than she had imagined. She allowed her magic to lead her as she wandered around, until she found herself standing in front of a tiny restaurant called 'Granny's'. There was a solitary light shining from the inside, but her magic pulled her toward the door. Three women were inside, and she felt drawn to a tall blonde, the older woman's magic beckoning her. Ignoring the pull, she observed for a few minutes, drinking them in.

There they were, Cruella de Vil, Ursula, and Maleficent, three of her favorite villains as a child. They were incredibly different from their Disney counterparts; younger for one thing, less menacing for another. These were the women her mother had taught her about. They were drinking, had been for a while if the bottles and shot glasses littered everywhere was any indication. She grinned. She so loved a challenge.

She entered the diner with no fear. After all, she was so much more powerful than all three combined. They looked up as the bell sounded. She allowed them their once-over. She knew she didn't look like much, just a typical teenage girl. Well, typical might not be the correct word.

Dressed in tight black skinny jeans, black heeled boots, a black tank top and a black leather jacket she looked every inch the stereotypical goth. Then there was her hair, jet black and streaked with blood red. Her make up was equally dark themed, red lipstick with black winged eyeliner and dark gray eyeshadow. She knew she looked good, definitely not seventeen.

The blonde stepped forward first, as she had anticipated.

"Who are you?" she growled, distrust and murder evident in her eyes.

"Deianira," she said, unfazed.

"Unusual name," Maleficent said, stepping closer.

"It means destruction, or destroyer," she replied flippantly, bored of small talk.

"Interesting," the sorceress said, her mind going back to an old prophecy. "Do you know who we are?"

"The Queens of Darkness. A pleasure."

"I wish I could say likewise. People who know of us usually aren't so at ease in our presence. Tell me, what do you want? Because if you're allied with those heroes," her hand lit with fire, "then prepare to burn."

"Your fire won't affect me," Deianira scoffed. "I am a sorceress like you, like the Evil Queen. I came to join your cause."

"Have you? Well, how do we know we can trust you?"

The girl nodded at the fireball.

"Hit me with that. If I burn I'm lying, as I said it wouldn't hurt me. If I'm unharmed I'm telling the truth and we have a civil conversation free of magic."

"As you wish," Maleficent said with a smirk.

She so loved roasting idiots. She threw the hottest fireball she could conjure, made from pure dragon fire. The flames struck the girl in the chest and her smirk grew as she waited for the screaming to begin. But when the child simply absorbed the flames with no pain or effort, it slipped off her face. She heard the other two women gasp.

"Who are you really?" she asked, on edge though she was determined not to show it.

"There was a prophecy told eons ago of a child born of many mothers and a father whose fate could not be decided by the author. Have you heard it?"

"Of course, everyone has heard it. In the Enchanted Forest each child was closely monitored until it could be determined if they were the prophecized child."

"What if I told you I knew of this child?"

The blonde drew back, shock painting her features.

"Impossible," Cruella called from the back, "no one knows this child. The prophecy is a myth, a lie told to keep children in line."

Deianira peered around the awestruck blonde to lock gazes with the bi-colored woman. She grinned, though it was more predatory than friendly.

"I'm afraid I have to disagree with you on that one. I happen to know the child quite well. She and I have been together for years now."

"So the child is female?" Maleficent asked, once more drawing attention to herself.

"'A child will be born of several mothers and a single father.' You didn't think that was the whole prophecy did you? I expected more from you three. 'The powers of darkness and light will battle within her until she is forced to choose a side. The darkness will have the greatest advantage as four of the mothers will be declared villains, while the fifth will be such a gleaming example of heroics that the lightness will not lag far behind. Her powers shall be great, stronger than the most powerful witches and sorceresses combined. She will either bear the name of savior, or destroyer.'"

She watched with satisfaction as Maleficent's eyes widened.

"Are you trying to tell me that you're..." she trailed her question, too stunned to continue.

"The prophecized child who will either bend the realms to her will or unite them all? Yes, I am."


	2. Relationships and Revelations

"How else would I already be able to control my magic?" Deianira asked, allowing her pale purple magic to swirl around her palm.

"You mean there is magic elsewhere in this world?" Maleficent asked, curiosity overcoming her shock.

"No, there's no magic anywhere in this world except this town. My magic is born of four extremely powerful sorceresses, the most powerful sorcerer, and a witch. It makes sense it wouldn't be contained to a mortal shell, doesn't it?" She waited for the other woman's nod before continuing. "As I said, I've come to help you with your mission."

"Why? What's in it for you?" Ursula asked, speaking for the first time.

"You might say I get the best of both worlds. I find my family, all of them, and choose my side. The balance will finally be completed and you three will have what you've always wanted. Not so hard to understand now is it?"

 _'Something about her seems familiar,'_ Maleficent mused. _'But what? I've only just met her. But those eyes, that smirk, her tone, they all seem familiar. And she absorbed my fire as if it were water, so she has to be a dragon. Perhaps I knew one of her mothers?'_

She felt her magic pulse as Deianira began to argue with Ursula, wanting to intwine with it. She gasped as she realized the full prophecy. The two stopped arguing as she all but collapsed into a chair. She looked up at the girl, seeing concern flash across her eyes briefly before disappearing, her _ice blue_ eyes.

"You're my daughter, aren't you?" she asked, voice nearly a whisper.

"That's just like you, darling, to assume you had a hand in the prophecy," Cruella chimed in.

"Shut up," Deianira snapped, attention focused on the blonde.

"And Regina, Regina is one of your mothers," Maleficent continued in almost a daze. The girl nodded hesitantly to show the older woman she was getting somewhere. "The most powerful sorcerer," the dragon mumbled, her head snapping up as she figured it out. "Rumplestiltskin, he's your father?" Another nod. "Okay, so who are your other mothers? Regina and I, that's two, you said there were five."

"There are," Deianira sighed, sinking into a chair beside her mother. "You're right, you and Regina are two of them. The other two dark ones are Zelena and my birth mother, Agatha, though you might better know her as Sage."

"The witch who kidnapped the royal princess?"

"She's the one."

"What about the heroine you were born of? Who is that? Snow White?"

"Oh God no! I don't think I could stand myself if she were my mother! No, my heroine mother is Emma, the savior. Or perhaps false savior if that is the path I choose."

"But how did your mother...How are you...?" the blonde said, at a loss for words for the first time in many years.

"How do I have so many mothers?" Deianira asked, voice surprisingly gentle. Maleficent nodded. "My mother found a way to this world long before the curse struck, and lived here peacefully for many years. Then she decided she wanted a child. Being the witch she was, she crafted a time travel spell, easily going back to the Enchanted Forest and collecting your, Regina's, Zelena's, and Rumplestiltskin's DNA."

The sorceress looked bewildered, and the girl realized she probably didn't know what DNA was. She sighed, trying to figure out a way to explain it.

"DNA is the thing that makes a person related to another. It carries certain traits, like eye color, or magic for instance. Or a shape shifting in yours. Do you understand?" she asked, voice still soft.

The woman nodded.

"Okay, so my mother gathered all that DNA. Another spell and she was in the future, in a time when Emma was in the Enchanted Forest. She got her DNA and came back to her time in this world. Science had progressed quite a bit at that point, and for a large amount of money, a scientist spliced, that's mixing everything together, all the DNA into one of my mother's eggs. That's pretty much it. She got pregnant, and had me seventeen years ago in a small town in the middle of nowhere."

Cruella and Ursula had crowed around when she began explaining her existence, and while the heiress might not have understood it, the sea witch certainly did. She had been in New York for almost thirty years, and had seen some of the newest inventions and ideas of the century take shape. One thing was certain; the fate of the world was sitting right in front of them.

"Are you going to tell the others?" Ursula asked.

"I...I don't know. Regina at some point, yes. But Emma and Rumplestiltskin...that's a different matter. I have so much dark magic flowing through me, I don't know if Emma would accept the truth. And Rumple would try to use me to further whatever plan he has for revenge."

"Well, he won't lay a hand on you. We'll see to that, won't we ladies?" Maleficent asked, her eyes glowing with magic.

"Sure, darling, if you say so," Cruella said, disinterest clear.

Deianira turned to her, a sly grin on her face.

"Is it true that you kidnapped ninety-nine puppies for a coat?" she asked, determined to get the villainess on her side.

"What? Do you really believe all that drivel from the movies? Of course not! It was two adult Dalmatians and I _did_ get my coat, make no mistake about that," the bi-colored woman growled.

"Good. I always did feel the ending was...unsatisfactory," Deianira replied.

"You mean you liked the villains?" Cruella asked.

"Yeah, the heroes didn't quite feel real. And the thrill of evil, it was attractive. Not to mention my mother all but forced me to be bad. The only reason I watched that 'drivel' as you put it, was to learn from your mistakes."

"We don't make mistakes," Ursula said, not too fond of the teenager.

"Oh, but you do. Why don't you rule the seas? Why don't you," she turned to Cruella again, "have your happy ending? And why didn't you, _Mother_ , get revenge on that sniveling princess?" She sat back, unfazed by the glares surrounding her. "So yes, you make mistakes, as all villains do. But I'm the solution. The wildcard, if you will."

"And what? We're just supposed to believe you'll help us? How do we know you can control your magic? You've already admitted that there's no magic in this world, so how could your mother have cast a spell? How can you control yours? You can't just waltz in here and demand to join us, you have to prove yourself," Ursula ranted, anger rising as she noted the way Deianira looked bored.

"My mother kept some of her magic stored in a vessel when she came here. She used that to enact the spell from this world to the Enchanted Forest. That world has magic, so she simply cast her other spells there. As for me, I already told you. My magic is so powerful it cannot be restricted. But if you deem it necessary, I will prove it to you." She stood. "Outside ladies."

She stood and exited the diner, the bell tinkling in her wake. The three women looked at each other.

"Since when do we take orders from children?" Ursula asked.

"Since they promise to be amusing," Maleficent answered before following her daughter out the door.

The remaining two shared a look before following their friend outside.


End file.
